


Red Wine and White Lies

by bluebloodnewt



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-24
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-22 12:00:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2507015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebloodnewt/pseuds/bluebloodnewt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Charles, a new graduate from Oxford, can't find a job, he goes to his sister in LA for help. However, she wants a little favor before she'll start introducing him to any important people from the school board.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: The Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> This story was just something I'd been thinking about after playing a really shitty dating sim on my phone. The plot is loosely based on Yamada's arch on My Forged Wedding, which is an interesting, if not expensive experience. Sorry for the cliches that will follow. 
> 
> Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Marvel characters mentioned in here, and I don't even know yet whether or not there will be any original characters.

Everyone in the airport seemed to be in a hurry, except for Charles. In fact, if he didn’t know that his sister was waiting for him, he felt like one of the nice, stationary benches in the terminals would be a fantastic place to doze off. He never could sleep on planes, after all, and the flight from London to Los Angeles was not a short one. In fact, it was a flight he never anticipated taking. He’d always imagined that after graduating and getting his professorship, he would teach either in England, or in New York near his childhood home, but it seems that the market for genetics professors has run rather dry. In desperation, he decided to accept his sister’s generous offer of moving to California, where she was a prospering artist on the rise. Apparently the art world has more connections than one would think, including the board members of USC, who she promised to introduce him to once he had settled in. 

Charles had never even been to California before. As a child when his mother decided that a trip to a Disney owned theme park was most likely essential to his and his sister’s development, (but did not want to go with them so she just sent them with a nanny) she’d opted for the slightly closer and much larger Disney World in Florida. California had just not been on his radar at all until Raven had moved there shortly after turning twenty to pursue her dreams of being a starving artist and a resident beach bum. It was never really expected for her to flourish the way she did, not that Charles didn’t think she had talent, he just assumed she was too eccentric and flippant to stick to her guns and her photographs the way she had. 

As he paced through the terminal, dragging the small carry-on bag he’d stuffed to the breaking point, the fatigue he’d been feeling was quickly replaced with nerves. What if the board members didn’t like him? What if they thought he was too young? What if they don’t need a genetics professor at USC either? His paranoid internal ramblings continued as he hailed a cab and gave the driver the address his sister had texted him when he landed, sans the extensive emoticons and exclamation marks. The rest of his luggage was set to be delivered to his sister’s address until he found a place of his own, so he packed light with just enough clothing for a few days. He had his suitcase tucked up next to him, seeing as how at that moment it was the only thing in the world that he owned. 

The cab drive seemed to take forever, even though the meter showed it had only been about twenty-five minutes, even with traffic. Soon they’d arrived at a divey bar, not an apartment building like he’d expected. The neon sign on the front read BEAST’S in ever glowing blue letters. Charles tossed money at the driver and grabbed his bag, already creating the scolding he’d be giving his sister in a few minutes in his mind. If he was being honest with himself, it was very like Raven to take him to a bar only minutes after arriving in a strange place halfway around the world from where he was accustomed to. It didn’t mean she was exempt from a good nag when she did it, though. It was hardly appropriate, and at only eleven in the morning, too! Granted, to Charles it could have been seven in the evening, but he was too tired to care. 

When he stormed into the bar, he was immediately surprised by how empty it was. After all, it was morning, but he’d half expected some sort of welcome party. However, there was just one gangly man with thick glasses behind the bar and two figures in front that he could see from the back. One was obviously his sister, as he could tell from the unruly mass of blonde hair trailing down her back and over her shoulders, seemingly recently streaked with blue and orange highlights. Mother would not be happy about those. The other man was as unfamiliar as the man tending the bar, but was infinitely better dressed. He had a short crop of honey brown hair, and seemed tall in his carefully tailored business suit. Had his sister honestly brought a friend from the board to meet him now? After an eleven and a half hour flight? He set down his back, crossed his arms, and cleared his throat.

“Ahem...Raven.” She turned at the sound of her name, beaming bright as ever as she jogged over to embrace her brother. 

“Charles! I haven’t seen you in forever. Did your accent get even thicker at Oxford? I swear it wasn’t even possible. You’ve always talked like a teabag.” She waggled her nose at him playfully, arms still around his neck. 

“Yes, yes, very funny. I had hoped however you’d let the ‘teabag’ take a nap before making any introductions,” Charles quipped. “It seems we have company in this...wherever this is.”

“Oh yeah! Charles, I’ve told you about my fiance already, Hank,” she gestured at the man behind the counter, who waved a bit with a small and shy but genuine smile on his face. ”and this guy here is a friend of mine. He has a bit of a...business offer for you.”

“Is he from the board?” Charles whispered after his sister had released him. He straightened his hair with the palm of his hand a bit. 

“No, no!” Raven laughed, “Not that sort of business. He’s just a friend, and he needs a favor and you’re probably the only one that can help. I just called it a business offer because I want you to help him out before I can introduce you to the people from the University,” she shrugged as if this wasn’t some huge deal. She needed a favor before she’d help him find a job?

“I wasn’t aware there were conditions to me coming here.” Charles said quietly through his teeth before staring pointedly at his sister. 

“There’s not...I just, look, he’s my friend and he’s in a really tight spot. It’s not hard, don’t worry, just think of it as a favor for a favor. Obviously I can’t make you say yes...but you know I’d do anything for you, right?” She batted her eyelashes at him and he immediately remembered why it was that they didn’t get along as kids. As close as they were, they’d always fought endlessly about Raven’s tendency to take advantage of Charles, and his inability to say no to her. 

He knew he was making a bad choice, he could tell just from the look on Raven’s blue and orange framed face, but he sighed and said, “Fine. I’ll do it. But what is it anyway? You said it’s not a big deal, correct?”

“It’s totally not!” she exclaimed, tackling him with another hug, “Let me just grab Erik. He’ll explain it better than I can.”

At least now he knew the name of the mysterious man that needed the ever-so-slight favor. She ran over to get him, and when he stood up and turned towards Charles, he was immediately struck by just how attractive he was. He was right at a first glance that the man was tall, but wiry. Strength and confidence seemed to radiate from him. He also bore the most striking face Charles had ever seen, like one of a predator on a hunt. When he reached Charles he unveiled the toothiest grin that the young professor had ever seen in his life. 

“Erik Lehnsherr, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Your sister has told me so much.” His voice had a strange, implacable accent to it that Charles couldn’t help but find charming. Maybe doing a favor for this man wouldn’t be as unfavorable as he thought. He straightened his posture and took the taller man’s hand. 

“Charles Xavier. Likewise. So I’ve heard you need a favor of me?”

“Yes.” He shook Charles’ hand firmly and after the release said very calmly, “Mr. Xavier, I’m going to need you to be my Husband.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Charles, a new graduate from Oxford, can't find a job, he goes to his sister in LA for help. However, she wants a little favor before she'll start introducing him to any important people from the school board.

Ch. 2

“Mr. Xavier, I’m going to need you to be my husband.”

“Wait...wh-what?!” Charles stammered. He whipped his head around to glare at his sister. “I thought you said this was ‘no big deal’?!” 

Raven laughed, twisting a tendril of her hair behind her back. It was a nervous habit Charles was ever so familiar with. “It’s not a big deal. It’s not like it’s going to be a real marriage or anything.”

“I’ll just be needing you to pose as my husband.” Erik piped in, nonchalantly. 

“Only for about a month!” Raven added, with her hand still behind her back and tangled in her hair. “And it gives you a place to stay while you get on your feet. It’s a perfect opportunity to really get your bearings for the city. Besides, Erik’s been here forever. He can show you around.”

“Wait, you’re expecting me to live with him?!” Charles couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or not. He began to pace, leaving his suitcase propped up behind him. Though this was a shock, he honestly had heard worse from his sister in the past. It shouldn’t be so surprising to him. “I’ve only just met the man, and you expect me to live with him? For a month?!”

“You had roommates in college. Think of it sort of like that.” Raven had finally managed to extract herself from her nervous habit long enough to stop Charles from wearing a hole in the floor. What really concerned him however, was how calm and collected this stranger had been throughout all of this. He simply stood there, arms crossed in his fancy suit, looking to all the world like nothing was wrong and he hadn’t just asked a man he’d just met to effectively marry him temporarily. 

“Well, what about you? Why would you need this anyway?” Charles bubbled out through his frantic thoughts. 

“I don’t see why that’s any of your business.” 

Is this guy capable of any variation in the tone of his voice whatsoever? Charles thought, only getting more flustered. “Well I don’t see how it wouldn’t, seeing as how you’re asking me to live with you as your spouse. If I’m going to agree to this, I at least need to know what for.” He found the other man’s stoicism more infuriating than charming at this point. Charles was the one in the dark on this whole matter, after all. A little empathy would be greatly appreciated.

“And here I was under the assumption that you had already agreed. If you must know, it’s for my job.” 

Well that’s a bloody hell of a lot of information. At least he’s uncrossed his arms.   
“Are you going to elaborate on that at all?” Charles’ voice had gone up in pitch at this point, but at the very least, he wasn’t shouting. 

“If I must. As you know, there are non-discriminatory laws in place here that supposedly should restrict businesses from disfavoring applicants due to race, sexuality, in this case, marital status, et cetera.” He paused to check if Charles was following, with one brow raised, and then continued. “However, it seems that in this fine city,” The sarcasm is thick in that one, “those laws don’t seem to apply to the most illustrious private schools. I’m a science instructor at one of those schools, and though it’s become evident of my preferences, my being single is apparently more offensive to the school board than my taste in men.” He paused to let it sink in. 

“So, you want to pose as a married man? With me?”

“You seem like the most opportune candidate.”

Charles didn’t quite understand. It was quite clear just from meeting Erik that he could probably have half of LA’s gay community falling at his feet if he wanted to. Perhaps it was just the lack of attachment he was looking for? Maybe he just needed someone who wouldn’t fall all over him, and for some reason expected Charles to be immune to his charms completely. Had his sister told this man anything at all about him?

“You do know that I’m…”

“Yes, Xavier, I do know that you are gay as well.” Erik’s accent only grew more foreign the longer he spoke. “However, you are entering this arrangement out of mutual need.” And Charles thought he was the perceptive one. 

“I see…”

“I assure you, this agreement will be nothing short of cordial, and hopefully it will end comfortably for both of us. I get the security in my position that I need, and you get the job opportunities that you need.”

Charles weighed his options. Either he could say no, and risk his sister’s wrath and getting on the bad side of this intimidating stranger, (who he would honestly probably never see again should he just retreat with his tail between his legs back to New York or England) or he could take the offer, get the interviews, and somehow manage to live in tandem with an extremely attractive yet distant man for a month. What was there to lose, really? If Erik turned out to be some sort of serial killer, (which he doubted because his sister was generally a good judge of character) Raven would know where to send the SWAT team. He was already perceived as a push-over by his sister, so it’s not as if his reputation was at stake. He glanced worriedly at Hank in the corner, the only one who had not expressed an opinion in the room, who only gave him an equally worried “Well shit what’re you gonna do” look, paired with a shrug. 

“Fine. I’ll do it.” Charles sighed in tandem with his sister, him with defeat and her with relief. Erik’s expression finally seemed to crack, allowing a small smirk and maybe the slightest hint of reprieve. 

“Then we ought to head home. I can imagine how tired you must be.” Erik said, stepping behind Charles to grab his bag for him. 

“N-now?”

“Well, obviously. You just got off of an eleven hour flight.”

This guy is really dedicated. He went from all business to acting like he actually cares in about two seconds flat. 

“I am rather knackered actually…” Charles rubbed the back of his head nervously, trying not to be too concerned with the fact that he’d be headed home with a mere acquaintance in a few moments. He figured that since they’re pretending to be in marital bliss, they could be considered ‘acquaintances’ now. 

Raven hugged Charles goodbye, and made him promise to call when he was settled in and rested. Hank gave a meek wave, and Charles made a mental note to get to know him better the next time they met. After all, someone who could handle his sister and an entire bar by himself must be a force to be reckoned with. Erik on the other hand, did not hold significantly less mystery than before. Sure, Charles knew his motive for the strange request now, but there were still so many questions left unanswered. How were they supposed to act as a married couple when he knew nothing about the other man?

He followed Erik, who opted to carry his bag for some reason instead of just rolling it, out the door of the dim bar and onto the street. It was still irritatingly bright outside, considering the early hour, and it felt to Charles like the sun was shining just to spite him. He supposed he’d have to get used to it, living in sunny California now, instead of his familiar gloomy England that he’d become accustomed to over the last however-many years. 

“Why are you carrying it like that?” Charles asked, stifling a yawn. 

“I find it annoying when people roll their luggage down the street. I’m simply extending the courtesy I’d like to see to other pedestrians.” Erik was curt with his answers it seemed. 

“Well aren’t we just going to hail a taxi anyway?”

“Why would we? It’s barely a five minute walk to my apartment from here.”

Charles bristled at the taller man’s tone. How was he supposed to know where Erik lived? He’d only just met him. The rest of the short walk was taken in silence, and they were soon overshadowed by a tall, modern apartment building made mainly of steel and glass. It seemed to suit Lehnsherr just fine. Fortunately for Charles, who felt he might fall asleep on his feet due to stress from both the traveling and the arrival, Erik was not also one to insist upon taking the stairs. Charles soon found out why when they entered the elevator and Erik pulled a key from his pocket, inserted it into the slot next to the buttons, turned and hit ‘7’. A few moments later, the doors opened directly into a sleek flat, furnished tastefully and minimalistically. 

“Uh...Erik...Why exactly are you a teacher?” Charles said, peering around the wide open great room, admiring the hardwood floors and the view from floor-to-ceiling windows that lay behind a black leather sectional. Everything was dark neutral tones: black leather, gray granite or darkwood. Being one of the elite Xaviers, Charles had grown up with wealth, but Erik had not seemed the type to be so independently wealthy. He was rather restrained, and modest, unlike the crowd his mother had often pressured him to associate with. 

“Well, it’s not for the money. Let’s just say it’s for...personal reasons.” Erik set Charles’ bag down next to the bar that separated the kitchen from the living space, and shrugged off his suit jacket to splay on the back of one of the high top stools. “The bathroom is in the master bedroom, down the hall and to the left. There’s a powder room for guests of course, but you won’t find a shower in it. No doubt you’ll be wanting one after such a long trip.”

Charles realized how much he actually did want a shower, a long, hot one at that. “Thank you.” He turned his back to pull off his tweed jacket when suddenly Erik’s hands were behind him, helping it off and carrying it away to a coat closet near the front of the apartment. It was strange how intimate an act like helping someone out of their coat can be, especially when you barely know a person. 

“Unfortunately, I only have one bed. So, I suppose whoever gets there first wins.” Erik smirked again, shutting the coat closet and leaning against the door frame. 

At that point, Charles was too set in the idea of a hot shower, and too tired to play along. If Erik wanted the bed, so be it. He could honestly sleep on the floor at this point if he had to. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and grunted in answer, heading back towards the hallway previously gestured to. 

Once out of Erik’s sight, he withdrew his hands to survey his surroundings. The walls were stark white, with dark modern art pieces and dark accents. The last door on the left was a bedroom, as promised, and the furniture inside matched the same darkwood as the rest of the apartment. The bed was large, and placed directly in the center of the room with bedding made of cool gray fabric, a twin to the drapes that lined yet another wall of windows across from the door and the padded headboard against the wall. It didn’t take much for Charles to find the bathroom at one end of the staunch room, and it looked more lived in than any of the other rooms before it. 

The bathroom was the same gray granite surfaces, but instead of dark hardwood the floors were dark marble, and plush white bath mats were scattered about to prevent slips. There were various grooming products stacked neatly next to one of the double sinks, and on the shelves inside the shower. A clawfoot bathtub sat in one corner, looking very lonely and unused, and Charles made a silent promise to the inanimate object that he would change that soon, when he was not so tired that he felt he might fall asleep and drown if he tried to take a bath. Instead, he stripped and folded his clothes neatly on the countertop, and opted for the shower stall that he thought was probably fancier than any bathroom fixture had a right to be. 

He realized once he’d gotten the thing running and to a reasonable temperature that he’d completely abandoned all of his toiletries in his bag in the other room. He looked back at his folded clothes, and debated whether it was worth getting re-dressed and wasting water to go get them. The lazy and slightly ‘wilder’ part of Charles decided, Fuck it. It’s not like he doesn’t have enough soap to go around. If I’m going to be his husband, I may as well smell like him. He chuckled to himself. It seemed that Erik had rather good taste in soaps as well, not girly per-say, but high quality and everything smelled so nice. Charles assumed he must be a man who takes his hygiene very seriously, as well as his housekeeping. 

He stepped under the spray and took his time, scrubbing away all the grime from the long journey with Erik’s spicy-scented lathers. He let the hot water wipe his mind clean for a while, and even after we was done washing, he leaned against the cool tiles and worked the stress out of his left shoulder with his arm. That had been the side he’d tried to fall asleep against on the plane, only to wake up several times fitfully until he grew too stiff to continue. The hot water was definitely helping, and feeling the stress ease away was a greater relief than he’d expected it to be. He finally stepped out what seemed like ages later, snagging a fluffy gray towel off the rack to dry off with. When he was reasonably less damp, he wrapped it around his waist and wiped off a section of the mirror to examine the circles under his eyes. 

With all the crap in here, he probably has something for that too. Not going to look for it though...that seems a little too far…

Charles blew his hair out of his face at the mirror and smoothed his hair back with his fingers. He looked over at his clothes and realized with a start that, by leaving his bag behind, he had no clean clothes to change into. He wasn’t about to change back into the dirty things he’d worn for the solid 15 hours or so he’d been in transit, so that left only one option. He’d have to go get it.   
Charles inched out of the bathroom, gripping his towel firmly with one hand to make sure it didn’t slip off or down his waist. As he made his way through the bedroom and toward the hall, he realized that the heavy drapes had been pulled to darken the room nearly to blackness. He slowly peered his head out the door and down the hall, looking for any signs of the other man. When it seemed like he wasn’t there, Charles dashed across the living room, feet pattering on the wood to make a grab for his bag. By the time he made it to the bar though, it became apparent that Erik was nowhere to be found. Sheets had been set up on the couch, but it seemed that the other man had left the apartment entirely. Charles sighed with relief, and noticed before turning back, that his phone was on the counter. He must have left it in the pocket of his coat when Erik had hung it up. It flashed the little green light that meant he had a notification, so he unlocked it and looked at the screen. There was a text from an unknown number, so he opened it and read:

“You win. The bed is yours. Sleep well. -EL”

Charles grinned and headed back to the bedroom to dress for sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want any images that give a general image of Erik's living space, feel free to send me a message.


End file.
